OBD-II trouble code
P0213: Cold Start Injector 1
SAE J2012 APR2002: cold start injector 1. The row does not say Malfunction, and it does not say every engine has this injector. The printed pair is check-engine diagnosis only.
Quick facts
- System
- Powertrain
- Category
- Fuel Injectors
- Severity
- Medium severity
- Drivable
- Usually safe to drive short-term
- Repair cost range
- $130 – $180 (check engine light diagnosis and testing, labor only; a cold-start injector parts-and-labor total was not found)
- DIY difficulty
- Advanced DIY
Browse every code in P0200–P0299, or start from the full code library.
What does P0213 mean?
SAE J2012 APR2002 names P0213 Cold Start Injector 1. P0214 is Cold Start Injector 2. The APR2002 title does not add the word Malfunction. Section 3 notes that the word malfunction was deleted from most descriptions. If the diagram has no cold-start injector, this SAE name is not a part to buy.
One system that uses a separate cold-start valve is described on jetronic.org's D-Jetronic troubleshooting page, section 13.4.11. On the variant that page describes, the valve is not the regular injectors. It is switched during cranking by a thermo-time switch, a bimetal in the coolant with a heater. Contact W closes to ground during starting when the engine is cold. The page says that at −20°C that can be for roughly 20 seconds, and that above 35°C the switch will not close. It also says the exact values are printed on the side of the switch, so those two figures are that page's illustration, not a spec to calculate from. Contact G is the heater, so a repeated start does not keep filling the manifold. The same page says BMW uses the cold-start valve for after-start enrichment through the ECU, and that variant is the workshop manual, not the thermo-time description.
That page's leak and function checks: the valve must not leak when it is not commanded. Forcing it open is done by applying 12 volts to its contacts, on that D-Jetronic valve, with the cautions below. Measuring the switch is done once, below the temperature printed on the switch, because the heater has to cool before the test can be repeated. None of that is a modern sequential-injection cold-enrichment pulse. Those engines lengthen the regular injector pulse and may have no cold-start injector at all.
A cold-start valve that drips, or a switch that stays closed, puts fuel in when the engine is not in that cold-crank window. Depressurize before a fuel fitting is opened. The switch threads into coolant. If it has to come out, the engine is cool and the cooling system is depressurized first. Hot coolant under pressure scalds.
Common causes
- No cold-start injector on the diagram, so the D-Jetronic valve is the wrong part
- A connector or a wire in the cold-start circuit, checked before the valve
- A thermo-time switch that does not close when cold, on the D-Jetronic variant that page describes, using the temperatures printed on that switch
- A valve that leaks when it is not commanded, which that page says it must not do
- The BMW ECU after-start path, which the same page says is a different control and needs the workshop manual
- A 12-volt click test copied onto a direct injector or a modern cold-start aid that is not this valve
- A coolant-temperature input, where this chart uses the module rather than a thermo-time switch
Symptoms
- P0213 stored
- Hard starting when cold, and a normal start when warm, on a system whose cold-start valve operates only in that window
- A rich condition if the valve leaks outside that window, which the D-Jetronic page treats as a leak the valve must not have
- No change in a warm start, which fits a device that the thermo-time switch has already opened
- Nothing to test if the diagram shows no cold-start injector
Diagnostic steps
- 1.Confirm the diagram has cold-start injector 1. If it does not, stop.
- 2.If the system is the D-Jetronic thermo-time variant in jetronic.org section 13.4.11, read the temperatures on the switch. Do not substitute the page's roughly-20-seconds-at−20°C or above-35°C lines for the printing on the switch.
- 3.Inspect the connector with the ignition off. Measure the valve winding against the spec this chart prints, key off, unplugged.
- 4.The switch test is done cold, once. Wait for the heater to cool before repeating it. The switch is in a coolant passage: engine cool, cooling system depressurized, before it is removed.
- 5.A leak check pressurizes the fuel system and watches the tip. Engine off and cool, no ignition source, depressurize before a fitting is opened, catch what comes out, and keep an extinguisher within reach. Fuel on a hot manifold is the hazard.
- 6.Applying 12 volts to force the D-Jetronic valve open is the test that page describes for that valve. Do not move it onto a direct injector or any cold-start device the workshop manual does not energize that way.
- 7.If the page's BMW note applies — ECU after-start enrichment — use that workshop manual instead of the thermo-time steps.
- 8.Replace the valve only after the connector, the switch or the temperature input, and the leak check have been done. The dollar pair on this page is diagnosis, not the valve.
Repair cost
$130 – $180 (check engine light diagnosis and testing, labor only; a cold-start injector parts-and-labor total was not found)
RepairPal's check engine light diagnosis and testing, updated 3 September 2026, is $125–$183 labor, rounded to $130–$180. No RepairPal parts-and-labor total was found for a cold-start injector or a thermo-time switch. Do not read $130–$180 as the valve. Opening the fuel line or removing the coolant switch uses the depressurizing steps above.
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DIY vs shop
This is an advanced DIY job. It typically requires specialty tools, scan-tool access, lifting equipment, or careful sequencing to avoid causing new failures. Plan for extended downtime and have a backup vehicle. Most owners are better served by a shop that has done this repair before.